paul stallard's pr blog

Getting in the PR Christmas spirit

With the first few flutters of snow this morning the office is starting to get into the Christmas spirit. Scrooges are not allowed through the door at the moment.

There is currently a competition in the Berkeley PR office with free drinks as the prize for the team who have the most Christmasy (I don’t think that is a word) pod by the 14th December. This also coincides with our wear a Christmas jumper to work day to raise money for Children in Need and follows our Christmas party where we will be shutting the office down early and heading for Ascot Racecourse for a champagne reception, meal and drunken merriment. But what else?

Well, we have sponsored the pantomime Beauty and the Beast at the Aldershot Princes Hall which opens its doors on Friday. Really?! Why?

Firstly, it is the theatre that my dear wife has worked at for the past ten years and they approached us to help support them and I had just booked to go on a football trip to Braga so needed to earn brownie points. Secondly, and most importantly, it fitted with our storytelling ethos.

Stories have shaped civilisations for generations and this is why pantomimes are so successful. By communicating tales of good and evil through the power of fun and engaging stories, characters – and companies – can stand out from the crowd.

The world of PR is full of self-congratulating press releases about new products, partnership agreements, awards and contract wins, but does the media really care? At Berkeley PR we have embraced the art of storytelling and injected it into our approach to PR. Think about it. Although we live in a digital age, the secret to effective communication can be found in the DNA of humanity dating back thousands of years. This is part of the appeal of pantomimes. It is a great story told in a compelling way. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t keep going back year after year. The same needs to happen to a company’s message or the media and more importantly, customers, won’t be interested.

So if you want a fun show suitable for all the family then please visit the Princes Hall’s website for further details and see you there. Oh no you won’t…oh yes you will!